Woman Sentenced To Prison For Stabbing Death

OAKLAND, CA — A woman apologized for her actions Monday when she was sentenced to three years in state prison for fatally stabbing a man during a verbal and physical altercation in East Oakland last November.

Precious Hicks, 24, said, "I'm sorry that all this happened," referring to the fatal stabbing of 24-year-old Blake Owens of Oakland in the 1000 block of 71st Avenue, a few blocks from the Oakland Coliseum, at 11:42 a.m. on Nov. 14.

Oakland police Officer Michael Cardoza wrote in a probable cause statement that Hicks admitted that she stabbed Owens but did so only after he had harmed her.

At her sentencing today, Hicks said, "It was never my intent to hurt [Owens], let alone to have him be gone."
Hicks, who had a young daughter with Owens, said, "I don't even know what happened."

Hicks was charged with murder for Owens' death, but at a hearing on April 2 the Alameda County District Attorney's Office agreed to let her plead no contest to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and only get a 3-year term for that charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 11 years.

One of Owens' cousins objected to Hicks' plea agreement today, saying, "It upsets me as an American citizen that the value of someone's life is only worth three years."

The cousin also said she didn't think Hicks was scared or acted in self-defense when she stabbed Owens.
Cardoza wrote that as Owens was dying at the scene, he told officers that Hicks was the person who had stabbed him and provided them with her date of birth.

Hicks called police a short time after the stabbing and told officers that she was at the Bay Fair BART station in San Leandro and was arrested there about an hour later, according to Cardoza.

Officers recovered a bloody knife from her that they believe she used in the stabbing, he said.

Hicks admitted to possessing the knife at the time that Owens was stabbed, Cardoza said.

An online obituary for Owens said he graduated from Skyline High School in Oakland and described him as "a bright light to all he encountered" and "a creator in a variety of facets."

The obituary said Owens "was a natural artist" who loved music, played guitar and drums, worked as a producer, wrote lyrics and was working on a comic book with his brother.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock